This Week In Island History

The news of 10 and 15 years ago is from the Jamestown Press. The news of 100 years ago came from the collection of the Newport Historical Society.

100 years ago

From the Newport Journal, Sept. 5, 1913

Labor Day was observed as usual at the Carr homestead by the gathering of a number of descendants of the family.

More summer guests left the island Tuesday than on any other single day before. On the 7 o’clock trip of the ferry, which leaves baggage at Long Wharf, there were six large truckloads of trunks.

S.A. Pierce is cutting a new road through his property at Maple grove, connecting Congress Street [now Westwood], which was recently laid out along the shore, with Spring Street.

75 years ago

From the Newport Daily News, Sept. 1, 1938

One-hundred-and-fifty couples attended the annual ball of the Jamestown Fire Department held at the Beavertail Country Club Tuesday evening.

From the Newport Daily News, Sept. 6, 1938

A large number of the members of the summer colony and townspeople attended the 50-bird trap shoot at the athletic field Monday afternoon, and Mrs. Worrell, a summer visitor, was the winner with a score of 48 out of 50, 23 out of 25, and 25 out of 25.

From the Newport Daily News, Sept. 7, 1938

A special meeting of the Town Council was held Tuesday evening for the purpose of opening bids for the razing of the three buildings owned by the town on the east waterfront. One bid of $8 was received from Nicholas Hyjcaj and he was awarded the contract. The work is to be completed by Oct. 6. The only buildings then left on the front will be those owned by Dennis D. Sheehan, the tailor shop and restaurant. Mr. Hyjcaj has nearly completed the work of razing the Thorndike Hotel, for which he has the contract.

50 years ago From the Newport Daily News,

Sept. 3, 1963

Some 200 youngsters participated Saturday in Jamestown Youth Day, sponsored by the recreation department. The event consisted of field events and swimming races, a doll-carriage parade, a baseball game, the final playoff game for the teenage league, and a dance at the recreation center.

25 years ago From the Newport Daily News,

Sept. 2, 1988

Residents like Jamestown just the way it is and they don’t want to lose it, a town-sponsored poll indicates. More than 4,000 questionnaires were mailed out in the spring of 1987 by the privately run Conanicut Island Land Trust. The answers were pretty clear. With only one exception, every question dealing with development was answered conservatively – in other words, “Let’s not change what we’ve got.” By a 1,144 to 235 count, residents said they favored a strict annual limit on new housing.

15 years ago

From the Jamestown Press,

Sept. 3, 1998

The population of the two schools has reached 670, but with the addition of a few new classrooms and the teachers to front them, no class will have more than 21 students, down from several rooms that had as many as 25 last year. Twenty-five is the maximum number of students that a teacher can have by contract.

An attempt to bring back power, when Jamestown’s main underground cable was tripped at 11:40 a.m. Friday, not only caused costly inconveniences to shopkeepers, but also set off a series of potentially hazardous incidents.

10 years ago

From the Jamestown Press,

Sept. 4, 2003

A new three-year contract was approved by the Jamestown Teachers Association Aug. 27 by a 48-2 vote. Salaries and health benefits changed in the new agreement.

As the town Building and Facilities Committee continues to work on finding a suitable location for a new Town Hall, a new potential location has emerged as a leading option for siting the new facility. The committee has considered siting the one building that would house all town administrative offices next to the library, on townowned land currently occupied by the Jamestown community playground.